


Strong Stuff

by NowThatsDedication



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angry uncle Thorin, Brother Stuff, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Quest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 16:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5212205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowThatsDedication/pseuds/NowThatsDedication
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fili and Kili are inseparable. Thorin attempts to keep them apart. This is not a battle you can win, Thorin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strong Stuff

There wasn't much else to do but stare at the sky.

Fíli tried to recall the names of the constellations he learned long ago. He squinted up at the bright clusters to make out the shapes. There was one that could be an ax, if he tilted his head just so. Or a chicken; that probably wasn't right.

Then he returned to wondering why he was sitting in the chilly night air, watching for...what exactly? Disturbances, he was told. Good training for a night watch. There had been “suspicious activity” outside the halls. Fíli was to report unusual occurrences but not pursue anything dangerous. But how could he tell when it was so damn dark out?

He had assumed Kíli would be there for company. “No. Just you. It builds character and you need to be separated once in awhile.” 

Thorin had spoken. Fíli was alone tonight.

He didn't mind solitude. He enjoyed it, on some occasions. It allowed him to think uninterrupted. But the long stretch of hours behind and ahead of him were dull. Passing time alone was a punishment. He wondered what he had done wrong to deserve it.

Fíli twirled a few knives around, making note of which ones to sharpen in the morning. He attempted to braid his hair in the dark, unsuccessfully. He unraveled a thread from his shirt, hummed to himself, and planned for tomorrow.

Until footsteps interrupted his thoughts. As they made their way to his post, his fingers grazed the hilt of the sword behind his shoulder.

“Hello, dear brother! Mind if I join you?”

“Idiot! Kíli, I could have killed you!” He slumped back down, relieved.

“With your aim? Unlikely.” Kíli tossed a sack at him. “Here, thought you might be hungry.”

“Is this an apology for sneaking up on me?” Fíli opened it, his mouth watering at the prospect of...

“Apples? Really? That's the best you could do?”

“Ah, ah, beggars and choosers and all that.”

“Well, I thought you knew me better. I can't stand them.”

Kíli swiped them back with a grin. “I'm aware. More for me!”

“You're not supposed to be here, you know.”

“So? There’s nothing worth my while going on. Might as well bust your-”

“I'm honored.” Kíli took a seat next to his brother. “See anything interesting?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh! You'll love this...you know what I heard this morning?” He rambled on between bites of an apple. Kíli loved to gossip.

Fíli dutifully listened, not particularly interested. “Did she, now?”

“Can you believe it? I didn't expect that myself! “I think it could-”

They perked up in synchronicity at a noise below them.

“What was that?”

Kíli leapt to his feet and moved toward the sound to investigate. Fíli pulled him back. “I'm supposed to be watching - not hunting for whatever it is.”

“Then I'll just shoot an arrow towards it.”

“Kíli, no! It could be just a dwarf out for a stroll.”

“At this time of night? No, it must be something sinister. Let's find out and get it!”

“That is a really terrible idea.”

“There's two of us, we can take on whatever it is. Easily!”

“You have a point.” It was certainly tempting. Fíli was in desperate need of excitement. Just a little bit of danger.

“Say, if we defeat a threat to the good folks of Ered Luin, don't you want to be showered in praise? Ladies throwing themselves at your feet...songs sung in your honor...and think of all the free drinks!”

“I believe I already have all of those things” Fíli smirked.

“You wish. Let's go!”

“I'm not letting you go by yourself. I guess that means I have to.”

“Yes, yes, you HAVE to! Come on!”

They crept down from their post, eager yet careful. The noise was sharper now, but it did not cease as they tread closer.

Fíli felt a tug on the back of his coat. He turned to see Kíli clutching it.

“If you're _scared_ , we can go back.”

"I'm NOT scared! I'm making sure nothing grabs you away!”

“Nothing's going to-”

It was coming toward them, rustling. They drew their weapons, shoulder to shoulder. The glowing eyes reflected in the moonlight. Evil little eyes, full of spite and malice and-

“It...it's a goat!”

“Durin’s beard! You've got to be kidding!”

Fíli lowered his swords and sighed in relief. “Shoo! Shoo, get out of here!” He chased it away while on the verge of a laughing fit. The goat sauntered away into the night.

“I was hoping for something more worthy of an arrow between the eyes,” Kíli groaned.

“Ah well, it's good we weren't in any real danger, except-”

“We were too late to save the turnips!” Kíli kicked at the ruined vegetation the intruder left in its wake.

“Those poor, innocent vegetables,” Fíli shook his head.

“Screw that, maybe I'll get some target practice in after all.”

“Fíli! Kíli!” A familiar roar of disapproval stomped toward them.

“What are you doing out here?”

“We found your culprit - a stray goat. Been terrorizing the gardens. Should we take it prisoner and interrogate it further for information?” Fíli couldn't help but be sarcastic. Afterall, his night watch had been a waste.

Thorin did not find it funny.

“Kíli, I told you to stay away tonight, did I not?”

“Yes, but I couldn't have my brother attacked by wild goats and not be there to defend him! You should have seen his face, he was _terrified_.”

Fíli huffed.

“What I mean is, we are a team. We work better together. I'm able to counter Fíli’s weaknesses and he offers, uh...moral support!”

Fíli gave him a little push. “Oh really? Who helped you off of that runaway pony, hmmm?”

“I have no idea what you're talking about, because that never happened.”

Thorin interrupted their banter, exasperated. “I have reasons for what I ask you to do. You cannot grow as individuals if you never part. I am not pleased about this disobedience.”

They both hung their heads down as their uncle led them back in silence. That was how they knew when he was especially angry - the silence.

****

“Fíli,” Thorin gestured him aside and sent Kíli back to his quarters.

“If he does this again, send him back. Understand?”

“Yes.” He didn't understand at all. But he would do what he was told.

“He has to learn to take care of himself. And so do you.”

“But I CAN take care of myself. And so what if Kíli is a little...dependent. I'll always be there for him.”

“You think you capable of protecting yourself and your brother? You certainly are not capable of listening to my orders. Did I not tell you to avoid possible danger? And yet you head out to find it. I do not care if it is a warg or a goat, you will not act foolishly again.”

Fíli didn't mind taking the fall for his brother, but felt it harsh to receive the brunt of Thorin’s anger and disappointment. All because he was supposed to “know better.” Perhaps Thorin had been worried about them. No, couldn't be. He was never worried about anything. Right?

“I'm sorry. It won't happen again.”

****

“I got you in trouble, didn't I?”

“Little bit.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Don't apologize. It was a stupid order. How can one dwarf be stronger than two? I’ll never understand him.”

“It's because you're not as _wise_ ,” Kíli laughed.

“And you are?”

“Uh huh. I'm full of wisdom. One day, you might be too.”

“You're full of something, but it's not wisdom.”

“Someone sounds envious.”

“Shut it. You don't know your arse from your elbow.”

“Oh? Then kiss it.”

“What, your elbow?”

Kíli threw an apple towards Fíli’s head. He ducked slightly and let it bounce off the wall.

“Ha! And you tell me MY aim is bad.”

“I meant to do that! I didn't want to knock you out or anything. Who could miss your big head?”

****

Two days later, in a display of fairness, it was Kíli’s turn for a night watch. Alone. He was not afraid of danger or wandering livestock, only of the endless boredom he would face.

He spent much of his time trying to remember the tune to a bawdy song he heard in the tavern. That, and arranging his arrows on the ground to spell lewd words. Anything to amuse himself

He froze. Something was watching him. And it wasn't a goat.

“Psssst. Over here!” It whispered.

“Fíli! You fool!”

“It's my turn to get YOU in trouble, only this time we won't get caught.”

Kíli smiled; he should have expected this.

“Did you bring me anything to eat?”

“Even better,” Fíli pulled out a flask from his pocket and waved it with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Is that the strong stuff?”

“The strongest!”


End file.
